Sunday, February 25, 2018

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Bandcamp Picks - Wake, Violent Opposition, Aureole of Ash, Misery Index

I have seen the future of grindcore, and it is Canadian band Wake. Bolstered by a production that's a quantum leap forward from their previous releases, Misery Rites is so fast it frequently sounds like two bands playing simultaneously. The band are no slouches musically, either, starting and stopping on a dime while sharing the experimental tendencies of late period Napalm Death. Once its 26-minute running time is over, I can't wait to hit play again. [$9.99 CAD]



Bay Area trio Violent Opposition will dispel any notion that grind is inherently sloppy anti-music. Exemplifying what the band describes as "Zappa grind", Utopia/Dystopia is ridiculously technical and impossibly tight, packing more convoluted riffs into 2 minute songs than you can shake a Rush album at. Somewhere in their doomsday bunker, Creation is Crucifixion is nodding and smiling. The album is available as a "name your price" download.



Hailing from the German town of Münster, Aureole of Ash may be relative newcomers but display the songcraft and savvy of veterans. Morbid Reality adopts the legendarily gnarly Swedish guitar tone in the service of short blasts of grinding power violence, wisely slowing things to a feedback-soaked crawl to let the damage sink in. The likes of Rotten Sound had better start looking over their shoulders. The album is available as a "name your price" download.



After their disappointing last outing (The Killing Gods wasn't bad, just badly in need of an espresso), I'm happy to report that Misery Index are firing on all cylinders with their latest single. "I Disavow" is a reminder of why this band is so special - they're death metal OGs who dedicated their talents to crafting the fastest, most sophisticated music that can still be labelled "grindcore". Coupled with a reverential cover of Nailbomb's "Wasting Away", my faith in this band is officially renewed. [$2 USD]

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Mixtape 45 - Third Culture Kings



Here is the 45th installment of the Dreams of Consciousness podcast, featuring an interview with Jan Johansen and Alap Momin of Third Culture Kids.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

my favourite answer ever.



hail satan.

UPDATE: A few weeks after posting this I learned that Rebaelliun guitarist Fabiano Penna passed away. I'm grateful to him for taking the time to answer my questions. Rest in peace, brother.

Sunday, February 11, 2018

Sunday, February 4, 2018

An Interview with Blind Idiot God



I'm fairly late to the party when it comes to Blind Idiot God. The band was signed to the legendary SST Records for their first album (which was released over 30 years ago), and rubbed elbows with the likes of Swans and Sonic Youth in NY's noise/post-punk scene. They were a seminal act in their own right, carving out their own niche of instrumental heavy rock that blended metal, hardcore, noise, and dub. The likes of Harvey Milk and The Fucking Champs probably wouldn't be around if it weren't for Blind Idiot God. Since this blog sings for the unsung, I reached out to the band for an interview; drummer Tim Wyskida (also of the face-melting Khanate) was kind enough to forward my questions to founder/guitarist Andy Hawkins, who took the time to answer them.